Textile beamer or warper



June 15, 1954 H. w. GROCE ET AL TEXTILE BEAMER OR WARPER 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1951 INVENTORS: 1251 01111219 Q Wile/"@006,

ATTORNEYS.

mm mm A 5 MM#.

g 00 Q E o o NJQNB June 15, 1954 H. w. GRQCE ETAL TEXTILE BEAMER OR WARPER 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 26 1951 i .1 y. MR Z 1 SN 0 0 IN E mm E E @m INVENTORS: 12 31 010124 (2 mergmag ATTORNEYS.

6007/? BY a? June 15, 1954 H. w. GROCE ETAL TEXTILE BEAMER OR WARPER 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 26 1951 H. W. GROCE ET AL June 15, 1954 TEXTILE BEAMER OR WARPER 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 26, 1951 June 15, 1954 Hfw. GROCE ETAL TEXTILE BEAMER OR WARPER 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Jan. 26 1951 Aw GNRN INVENTORS:

ATTORNEYS.

Fatented June 15, 1954 2,680,896 TEXTILE BEAMER 0R WARPER Homer W. Groce and Foundry Company, tion of North Carolin Godfrey H. Browne, Gastonia, N. 0., assignors to Cooker Machine &

astonia, N. 0., a, corpora- Application January 26, 1951, Serial No. 208,038

12 Claims.

This invention relates to machines ordinarily known as beamers or Warpers, used in the textile industry to wind warp yarns onto beams which are afterwards mounted in looms for weaving of the yarns into cloth of various kinds.

In such apparatus, the beams are constantly rotated by power, while a press roll is yieldingly held in rolling contact with the yarn accumulations on the beams during the winding or beaming period. With beamers or warpers, as heretofore constructed, considerable difiiculty has been experienced in maintaining the press rolls in full longitudinal contact with the yarn accumulations on the beams, and also in accurately controlling the speed of the latter. Due to uneven tensioning of the warps and variation in the density of the windings on the beams under these conditions, irregularities frequently occurred in the fabrics subsequently woven from the yarns.

The main object of our invention is to overcome the above disadvantages. This desiderata is realized in practice, as hereinafter more fully disclosed, through provision in apparatus of the character referred to, of simple and reliable means whereby the press roll is held in constant yielding pressure engagement with the beam, and means whereby said roll is positively maintained at all times in true parallelism with the beam, in association with means whereby the speed of the beam is automatically controlled to compensate for gradual increase in the diameter of the yarn windings so that both the linear speed of the warps and the tension thereof will be kept constant throughout the beaming periods.

A further aim of our invention is to provide, in connection with a textile beamer or warper having the foregoing attributes, likewise simple and reliable beaming, loading and dofling means capable of actuation from the aforementioned means by which the press roll is held in yielding pressure contact with the beam during the beaming.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a view, in side elevation, of a textile beamer or warper conveniently embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is a broken out view partly showing the apparatus in top plan, and partly in horizontal section. I

Fig. 3 shows the apparatus in longitudinal section, with the beam in position ready for the winding to begin.

" respectively to Figs. 5 and 6 with Fig. is a view like Fig. 3 but showing an empty beam positioned in readiness to be mounted in the apparatus.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in elevation looking as indicated by the angled arrows V-V in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a view looking as indicated by the angled arrows VIVI in Fig. 5.

Figs. 7 and 8 are illustrations corresponding portions broken away and in section, and with certain of the movable parts shown differently positioned.

As herein illustrated our improved textile beamer or warper has a base I and two main side frames 2 with upstanding lugs 3 in which a pair of longitudinally-extending parallel guide rails i are secured, said rails being in the form of cylindric rods. Slidable along the guide rails d are carriages 5 with brackets 6 wherein the opposite ends of a shaft 1 about which the press roll indicated at 8, freely revolves. The bearings 5 are united by a transverse bar 9 which is connected, at its mid-point, to the piston rod iii of a horizontally-arranged double-acting cyl inder H which is secured centrally of a tie beam i2 extending crosswise between the rear ends of the guide rods 4. Afi'ixed to and extending rearwardly from the carriages 5 are toothed racks i! that mesh with spur pinions l8 fast on a transverse shaft l9 whereof the opposite ends are rotatively supported in bearing brackets 20 clamped to the guide rods 4. By the means just described, the carriages 5 are constrained to move in unison to insure maintenance of the press roll 8 in accurate parallelism with the beam indicated at 2| onto which the warps are wound during the operation of the apparatus. For the purpose of stabilizing of the press roll 8 as it is urged forward by the piston rod of the cylinder l I and held in yielding pressure engagement with the warps as the latter build up on the beam 2!, we have devised a snubbing means pair of arms 22 which are pivotally connected to the carriages 5. Like the racks H, the arms 22 extend rearwardly from the carriages to respectively engage between pairs of friction plates 23 which are rockably supported on studs 24 projecting laterally from the brackets 20. In each instance a spring 25, regulatable by a hand wheel 20 in threaded engagement with the stud 24, urges the outer plate toward the inner plate of each pair 23 to create the friction.

As shown in Fig. 2, the beam 2i is mounted between drive heads 21 at the inner ends of which comprises a two spindles 28 rotative in pairs of spaced bearings 251 on supplemental standards 35 rising from the base I at the front of the beamer outwardly of the frames 2. The heads 21 are identical in construction, each having, see Figs. 1, 3 and i, an arcuate slot 3| which extends from the periphery of the head to the center for reception of the corresponding journal 32 of the beam 2i. Recessed into a diametral groove 33 in the inner face of each head 21 respectively on opposite sides of the head center and held in assembly by removable cover plates 34, are opposing jaw elements 35 and 3% with V notches between which the corresponding beam journal 32 is adapted to be clamped as shown in Fig. 6. The jaw piece 35 is shiftable in the groove 33 by means of a regulating screw 31 with a polygonal end accessible for wrench application at the periphery of the head 21. The screw 31 is prevented from shifting axially as it tion of spaced collars 38 thereon with stop shoulders on a block 39 set into a separable segmental portion Ml of the head. As shown in Figs. 6, 7, the block 39 is secured to the segment 4% by screws ll, and the segment to the body of the head 21' by screws 82. The jaw piece 36 is separately adjustable in the groove 33 by means of a set screw 43 threadedly engaged in a plug M which closes the corresponding end of said groove. By the latter adjustment, the head 2? is adaptable for the reception of beam journals 32 of different diameters. Endwise shiftable in a transverse opening 55 in each head 21 at a radial distance from the spindle axis, is a pin it of square section whereof the inner end is rounded as at 1 to engage into an aperture in the corresponding end fiange 48 of the beam 2| as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. From Fig. 7, it will be noted that the jaw piece is formed at one side, adjacent its outer end, with a bevel edge 69, and the pin it with a lateral stud projection 50. Accordingly, as the jaw piece 35 is moved outward of the slot 33, the pin 46 is concurrently withdrawn, against the resistance of a spring indicated at 5|, from the aperture in the beam flange 48 through camming action of the bevel 59 with the stud 59 as shown in Fig. '7.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the shafts or spindles 28 to which the heads 21 are afiixed, are driven, through the medium of sprocket chains 55, from a transverse transmission shaft 55 journalled in bearing brackets 51 on the base I, and powered through a belt drive 53 from an electric motor 59.

For the mounting and removal of the beam 2 l, we have devised a doping means which is arranged to be actuated through connections with the cylinder H. As shown, this means comprises a pair of arms Eli which are secured to a transverse rock shaft 6| rotatively supported in bearings 62 at the front end of the base i somewhat rearward of the vertical plane containing the beam drive axis. At its distal end, each arm 69 has forwardly open lateral notch 53 for engaging over the corresponding journal 32 of the beam immediately outward of the adjacent end flange 48 of the latter. For temporary retainrnent of the beam journal 32 within the notches '53 we have provided U-shaped keeper elements 65 which are slidable longitudinally of the distal ends of the arms 69 and which have upwardly-projecting manipulating grasps 65. Normally, during operation of the apparatus, the dofling arms 60 occupy the upright positions (see Fig. 3) leaning against the front ends of the is turned through coopera- I i5 that meshes with side frames 2, being locked in this position by a latch 61 on one of said arms, which latch hooks over a catch 68 on the base i and which is releasable by means of the treadle indicated at 59. As instanced in Fig. 4, each doifing arm iii} is connected to the corresponding press roll carriage 5 by a chain 10 threaded through a slot in the frontal top corner of the corresponding side frame 2, said chain passing ower a sprocket wheel H free on a shaft 12 journalled in said frame adjacent the front end thereof.

For automatically controlling the rotary speed of the press roll 8 to compensate for the constantly increasing diameter of the warp winding on the beam for maintenance of uniform tension on the warps throughout the beaming period, we have shown mechanism which except for certain details, is generally similar to that disclosed in U. S. Patent 2,384,879 granted to J, C. Bodansky and Ernest K. Whitener on September 18, 1945. Briefly described, this mechanism is as follows:

Aflixed to the shaft 1 of the press roll 8 within one end of the latter, see Fig. 2, is a spur pinion a spur gear 16 at the inner end of a countershaft i1 rotatively supported in the carriage 5 at the corresponding side of the apparatus. An endless sprocket chain 18 is engaged over a sprocket pinion H9 at the outer end of countershaft 11, see Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, said chain being directed downward to a pair of idlers and 8! which are rotatively free on studs t2 and 83 projecting laterally from the carriage 5. In underpassing the idlers 8i! and 85 the chain 18 is directed horizontally to sprocket wheels 35 and St whereof the former is secured to the shaft 12, and the latter to a transverse shaft 81 and journalled in the corresponding side frame 2 adjacent the rear end. rhrough another chain 88, the shaft 81 is connected to the regulating shaft 89 of a differential gear unit mounted on base I. By a system of bevel gears 85, the shaft 89 is connected to an axiallyaligned shaft 92, which, through spur gears 93 is connected in turn to a parallel shaft 95 of the unit 90. Through the medium of additional speed-reducing sprocket chain gearing 9t, 91, the shaft 35 is constantly driven from a pilot motor 93 supported on the base 1 adjacent the unit 95. Through interposed gearing 98, Ill-llv and NH, the movements of the shaft 92 of the unit 96 are transmitted to a sprocket wheel it? on the actuating shaft I03 of a rheostat I05 which is relied upon to regulate current flow to the motor 59. The sprocket wheel m2 is coupled to the shaft H13 of rheostat M5 by a spring clutch means [02a which will slip under certain conditions. The A. (1-D. C. motor generator set indicated at N5 in Fig. 2 furnishes the current for the pilot motor 98. The circuits for the various electric instrumentalities employed in the control system may be like that shown in the reference patent supra, except that, in the present instance, a switch Hll (Figs. 1, 3, 4) is interposed with its spring-biased actuating lever 108 in the path of one of the arms 60. As the arm 6% swings outward incident to dofling of the beam 2| as presently explained, the switch Hi1. automatically opens to break the control circuits and so prevents operation of the motor 59 at such time.

Compressed air or other fluid pressure medium for actuation of the cylinder ii is, conducted through a pipe line H0 from a suitable source of supply (not illustrated) to a combined regulatorfilter-lubricator unit conventionally shown at I l I in Fig. 1. A pipe II2 leads from the unit ill to a manual controlled three way valve II3 which is in communication with opposite ends of cylinder II by way of pipes H5 and II 6, and which exhausts through a pipe I I 'I. Interposed in pipe H5 is a manually-operable adjustable restrictor valve I I8, and connected into the rear end of the cylinder is an adjustable bleed valve I I9 which may be of the needle type.

In practice, the apparatus is provided, of course, with combs or reeds for keeping the warps separated as they travel to the beam, but since such devices are well known in the art, illustration of them herein has not been considered necessary.

Operation In preparation for the operation of the apparatus, the treadle 69 is depressed to withdraw the latches 68, whereupon the arms 69 are drawn forwardly past dead center by means of the grasp 66, with incidental taking up of the slack in the chains "E0. The valve H3 is then operated for admission of air to the rear end of cylinder II to move the piston rod II] of the latter forwardly with the cross bar 9 and the carriages 5. The arms 6t are thereby allowed to swing by gravity to the position in which they are shown in Fig. 4, for engagement of their notches 63 over the journals 32 of an empty beam 2! previously rolled into position to the front of the apparatus. The keeper elements 35 are next lifted to lock position for temporary retainment of the beam journals 32. With this accomplished, the valve I13 is reversed to admit compressed air into the front end of cylinder I I for retraction of the piston rod iii and the parts connected thereto. As such retraction takes place, the arms 60 are swung inwardly of the machine by the induced draw of the chains '50. As a consequence, the empty beam is lifted and its trunnions 32 passed into the arcuate slots 3| (which slots are curved concentrically with the axis of rock shaft 6!) in the heads 27 until centered with respect to the latter, whereupon the valve I4 is returned to normal neutral position. The screws 38 are next rotated to move the jaw pieces 35 inwardly of the heads 2? to clamp the beam journals 32 as in Fig. 6. As the jaw pieces 35 recede in the heads 21, the pins 45 are urged inwardly by the springs SI for projection of their rounded ends into the apertures in the beam flanges 48. Finally, the keeper elements 6'5 are depressed to release the arms 36 which are then swung back to the normal idle position of Figs. 1, 2, 3, with incidental slacking of the chains I0 and closing of the switch I 01. The valve I i3 is now moved to admit compressed air this time to the rear end of cylinder H for advancement of the pressure roll 8 into engagement with the body of the beam 2i, said valve being kept in the position to which it was last moved throughout the beaming cycle which follows.

All being now in readiness, the motor 59 is started and the beam 2I driven in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. During the beaming, the roll 8 is maintained in constant but yielding pressure contact with the warp yarns as they build up on the beam 2| by the action of the cylinder II, spasmodic movement thereof as it recedes with gradual increase in the diameter of the warp accumulation on the beam being prevented by the action of the snubbers 22. In receding, the press roll 8 is held in true parallelism with the beam through cooperation of the rack bars I! with the pinions I8 as will be readily understood; while through the chain connections 18 and 88, the differential unit is automatically controlled to bring about gradual decrease in the speed of the motor 53 for maintenance of a uniform tension on the warps throughout the beaming cycle, in the same manner as set forth in the patent hereinbefore referred to. Moreover during the beaming cycle, the pressure in cylinder I I is kept constant by the bleeding action of the valve 5 I 9. After the desired amount of yarn has been collected on the beam 2 I, the apparatus is stopped, and the valve II3 moved back to neutral to out 01f further flow of compressed air to the cylinder II.

In preparation for dofiing the filled beam, the arms'tt are moved forward manually to engage the beam journals 32 within the notches 63, and the keeper elements 65 are lifted into lock position. The jaw pieces 35 in the heads 2? are next retracted, with attendant withdrawal of the pins 45, to release the beam journals 32, and compressed air is thereafter admitted into the front end of cylinder II to take up the slack in the chains is, and the valve II3 then manipulated to exhaust the air from said cylinder and so gradually let down the beam until it rests on the floor. As a last step, the keeper elements 65 on arms 65 are depressed to free the trunnions 32 of the filled beam, whereupon the latter is rolled away in readiness for the substitution of a fresh empty beam in the apparatus in the same manner as before.

It is to be understood that we do not consider ourselves limited to the precise details of construction and arrangement herein shown and described by way of example, since these are obviously subject to considerable modification within the scope of the broader of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a textile beamer or warper, a rotativelysupported driven-beam; an associated press-roll; a transversely-arranged carriage with bearings in which the press roll is journalled in the same horizontal plane with the axis of the beam; a fixed guide-way by which the carriage is con" strained for rectilinear movement of the press roll relative to the beam; yielding means influential upon the carriage to maintain the press roll in contact with the winding on the beam; a crosswise shaft rotative in fixed bearings; and spur pinions afiixed to said shaft and meshing with toothed racks respectively at opposite sides of the carriage for maintaining the press roll at all times in true parallelism with the beam.

2. A textile beamer or warper according to with its piston rod connected to the rear end of the carriage.

3. A textile beamer or warper according to claim 1, wherein the yielding means is in the form of a stationarily-supported double acting fluid pressure cylinder with its piston rod connected to the rear end of the carriage; and further manual valve means whereby pressure be admitted to the front end of the cylinder concurrently with exhausting of the rear end for retraction of the press roll from the beam preparatory to clotting of the latter.

4. A textile beamer or warper according to claim 1, further including bars longitudinally of opposite sides of the carriage; and fixedly positioned slip friction clamp devices for restraining said bars to prevent spasmodic action of the press roll during the beaming.

5. In a textile beamer or warper, means including a motor with a speed control for driving the beam; an associated press roll; pressure fluid actuated means for maintaining the roll in yielding rolling contact with the warp winding on the beam during the beaming; and means actuated from the press roll for governing the speed control of the motor to reduce the speed of the beam compensatively with increase in the diameter of the warp accumulation thereon, for maintenance of a uniform tension upon the warps.

6. In a textile beamer or warper, a rotativelysupported beam; an associated press roll; a carriage with bearings in which the shaft of the press roll is journalled; a fixed horizontal guideway by which the carriage is constrained for rectilinear movement of the press roll relative to the beam; yielding means influential upon the carriage to maintain the press roll in contact with the winding on the beam; an electric motor and intermediate connections for driving the beam; and, means for controlling the speed of the motor for maintenance of uniform tension on the warps during the winding including an associated rotary rhecstat; a differential gear device for actuating the rheostat driven by an auxiliary constant speed motor and having a regulating shaft; a spur ninion on the shaft of the press roll; an intermeshing spur gear with its shaft rotatably supported on the carriage; a sprocket wheel on the last mentioned shaft; a chain connecting the sprocket wheel with sprocket wheels on shafts adjacent opposite ends of the guideway, and a sprocket chain connection between one of the latter shafts and the regulating shaft of the differential device.

7. In a textile beamer or warper, a pair of side frames; heads at the inner ends of unison-driven spindles rotatively supported in the side frames, said heads having means axially for reception of journal projections of a beam upon which the warps are to be wound; means for releasably connecting the beam to the heads for rotation thereby; a press roll; means for moving the press roll toward and away from the beam, and for maintaining it in rolling the beaming, including a horizontally-arranged double-acting pressure fluid cylinder, and slide carriage means rotatively supporting the press roll and connected to the piston rod of the cylinder; and beam mounting and doffing means including a pair of vertically-arranged lift arms affixed at their lower ends to a positionally-fixed transverse roclz shaft and having releasable means at their distal ends for engaging the journals of the press roll, and connections through contact with the latter during which said arms are actuated from the cylinder aforesaid to initially mount the beam in the warper, and to doff the beam at the completion of the beaming cycle.

8. A textile beamer or warper, according to claim '7, wherein the lift arms of the beam mounting and doffing means have laterally-open notches at their distal ends to engage over the journals of the beam, and retractable keeper means for retaining the beam trunnions in said notches during mounting and dofiing.

9. A textile beamer or warper, according to claim 7, w erein arcuate slots, with their center of curvature in the axis of the rock shaft, extend from the peripheries of the heads to the centers of the latter for entry of the beam journals; and. further including retractable means to prevent displacement of the beam journals from the bottoms of the slots in the heads during the beaming.

19. A textile beamer or warper, according to claim 7, wherein the drive axis of the beam is in a vertical plane somewhat outward of the vertical plane containing the rock shaft for the lift arms of the beam mounting and doffing means, so that when in operative position, said arms are inclined past dead center to permit gravitation of the beam during dofiing under restraining con trol of the cylinder.

11. A textile beamer or warper, according to claim '7, wherein the drive axis of the beam is in a vertical plane somewhat outward of the vertical plane containing the rock shaft for the lift arms of the beam mounting and doffing means, so that when in operative position, said arms are inclined past dead center to permit gravitation of the beam during dofllng under restraining control of the cylinder; and wherein the lift arms are connected to the press roll carriage means by chains.

12. An electric motor-driven textile beamer or warper, according to claim '7, wherein the lift arms of the beam mounting and doffing means normally occupy an idle position withdrawn from the beam journals during beaming; further including switch in circuit with the motor arranged to be opened upon movement of said arms to active position in preparation for dofling.

References Gited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

